Development of relations between the Union of Czechoslovak writers and the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia in the 1960s

The objective of this bachelor thesis is to reflect key moments of the development of relations between the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia and the Union of Czechoslovak Writers in the 1960s when the cultural sphere was no more understood as autonomous but should represent ideological superstructure of the regime. The following work tends to describe the development of this uneven relation in view of the fact that yet in 1962 the party leadership considered this creative union along with its magazines to be the "gear-lever" of the regime. However, in the course of next few years the conflicts between the monopole incumbent and the creative union were escalating and eventually in 1970, after the invasion by the armies of the Warsaw Pact in 1968, led to the demise of UCW. Thus, following bachelor thesis raises questions such as; if and when, from the perspective of CPC, the Union of Czechoslovak Writers terminated to play the role of the "gear-lever" and which methods were consequently introduced by the party apparatus.Cílem bakalářské práce je reflektovat klíčové momenty ve vývoji vztahů mezi Komunistickou stranou Československa a Svazem československých spisovatelů v průběhu 60. let, kdy kulturní sféra nepředstavovala autonomní oblast, ale měla sloužit jako ideologická nadstavba režimu. Práce se pokusí zachytit, jakým způsobem se tento nerovný vztah vyvíjel s ohledem na fakt, že stranické vedení ještě v roce 1962 počítalo s tímto tvůrčím svazem a jeho periodiky jako s jednou z "převodových pák" režimu. V období následujících několika let však spory mezi reprezentantem mocenského monopolu a tvůrčím svazem postupně gradovaly, a nakonec vedly roku 1970, po invazi vojsk Varšavské smlouvy v roce 1968, k zániku SČSS. Bakalářská práce se tak bude snažit zodpovědět otázky, zda a kdy přestal SČSS v očích KSČ plnit onu roli "převodové páky" a k jakým metodám se v takovém momentě stranický aparát uchýlil.Institute of Political ScienceÚstav politologieFaculty of ArtsFilozofická fakult

Pathway to the Fall of the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia: Case of Antonín Novotný

Diploma thesis deals with the topic of the position of the First Secretary of the Central Committee of Communist Party of Czechoslovakia Antonín Novotný and the role he played in the political system during the 1960s; system named for its characteristics as quasi-pluralist authoritarianism by Harold G. Skilling. First Secretary's authority within the limits of the system was supported by several competences, formal and informal, that he could use to strengthen his position. The author of the thesis works on the assumption that his position stayed inherently unstable and therefore provides an analysis of the second half of the "Novotný era" to discover which factors at that time supported his authority, and on the other hand, which ones tended to undermine it. Key words: Communism, Czechoslovakia, Antonín Novotn

Development of relations between the Union of Czechoslovak writers and the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia in the 1960s

The objective of this bachelor thesis is to reflect key moments of the development of relations between the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia and the Union of Czechoslovak Writers in the 1960s when the cultural sphere was no more understood as autonomous but should represent ideological superstructure of the regime. The following work tends to describe the development of this uneven relation in view of the fact that yet in 1962 the party leadership considered this creative union along with its magazines to be the "gear-lever" of the regime. However, in the course of next few years the conflicts between the monopole incumbent and the creative union were escalating and eventually in 1970, after the invasion by the armies of the Warsaw Pact in 1968, led to the demise of UCW. Thus, following bachelor thesis raises questions such as; if and when, from the perspective of CPC, the Union of Czechoslovak Writers terminated to play the role of the "gear-lever" and which methods were consequently introduced by the party apparatus